


Safekeeping

by larislynn



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Caretaking, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Reader-Insert, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, hurt reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:01:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25324339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larislynn/pseuds/larislynn
Summary: When you get hurt in a fight, Zuko takes it upon himself to make sure you stay safe.Prompt: "Let me carry that."
Relationships: Zuko (Avatar)/Reader
Kudos: 131





	Safekeeping

Carefully, you tiptoed out of your tent. Taking a quick look around, you made sure no one was coming your way. You walked over to the training area, sword in hand. Although your earthbending skills were good, you still needed practice in hand to hand combat. After all, your lack of training in that arena was what caused you to become injured anyway. 

You grimaced as you remembered the bandage still wrapped around your leg. Nevertheless, you were fully healed now, Katara just insisted on leaving it on as a precaution. Otherwise, everything was back to normal.

Smiling you looked upwards. There were only a few puffy white clouds dotting the baby-blue sky, and the sun was shining warmly down. It was the perfect day to swing a sword around like you knew what you were doing. 

Taking a deep breath, you brandished the blade, moving it outwards in an arc. It wasn’t flawless, but it certainly had potential. Once Sokka woke up you’d try to get his help. After a few more swings you decided that you wouldn’t improve much on your own. Turning to head back to your tent, you jumped.

“Zuko, what are you doing there? You startled me,” you said, taking a steadying breath.

“Oh, sorry about that,” he replied with a sheepish smile. “I heard you get up and wanted to check on you.”

“Well I’m clearly fine,” you huffed. “Besides, I’m heading back to my tent now.”

He reached out and took the sword from you, “ _Let me carry that._ ”

Crossing your arms, you answered, “I don’t need help carrying a sword!”

“Clearly you do, it wasn’t balanced.”

“What do you mean it wasn’t balanced? Of course it was!”

“No,” he said, handing the sword back to you, “it was not. When you use a blade, there’s always a center of force and energy. Sometimes it can be hard to locate.” You repositioned the way you held the sword and he nodded. “That’s better. I can give you a lesson if you want, once your leg is healed that is.”

“My leg _is_ healed,” you insisted. “Katara told me so herself.”

He shook his head, “Well I don’t want you getting hurt, so I’d rather we wait a bit.”  
  


“Fine,” you sighed. “In that case I’ll see you later.” Walking ahead, you ducked into your tent. He meant well, but you didn’t need to be treated like you couldn’t do anything. After a moment of laying on your sleeping bag you sat up. There was no way you could fall back asleep. Besides, the others would be getting up for breakfast soon anyways.

Deciding to surprise them, you snuck back out of your tent. As you put together some of the ingredients for the morning meal, you heard a twig snap behind you. Whirling around, you searched for the intruder. Instead, you found yourself face to face with Zuko. 

“I thought you said you were going back to bed?”

“Well I did, and now I’m up again. Are you stalking me?”

“No, I’m just,” he glanced around, quickly picking up a teapot, “I’m making tea.”

“Right,” you answered suspiciously, “and I’m about to practice airbending.”

He shook his head, “Fine, you caught me. I don’t want you to get hurt, so I decided to stick around.”

You rolled your eyes, “Well if you’re going to be here anyways, you might as well help with breakfast.” As you continued preparing the meal, you began to feel a bit guilty. Although you hated to admit it, you hadn’t been entirely fair to him. 

Ever since you were injured he did whatever he could to help you recover. Even now, he was still trying to make sure you were safe. But at the same time, you just wanted things to return to normal. 

Placing the food over the fire, you sat down to rest. Zuko soon came over to join you, and the two of you sat in comfortable silence. After a while, you turned to him, “I know you think I’m not ready to train again but I am. My leg is fully healed, and I can do things on my own.”

“But if you get hurt-”

You cut him off, “The reason I got hurt in the first place was because I didn’t know how to protect myself. If I can use a blade then I’ll be safer.”

Zuko looked down, “You never should have gotten hurt in the first place,” he whispered.

“What are you talking about? My leg got stabbed by a Fire Nation soldier, it couldn’t have exactly been prevented.”

“But it could have,” he exclaimed. “It was my fault you were injured. I saw you needed backup and was on my way over when Azula stopped me. She tried to tell me that things were so much better with me gone, and I pushed her away. By the time I turned back, you had been hurt.”

Touching his shoulder, you looked over at him, “Zuko, how is that your fault? You tried your best.”

He met your gaze, looking upset, “Don’t you understand? If I had just ignored her you never would have been injured! I should have known it was a trick from the beginning. Now I want to make sure you don’t get hurt again, I can’t let that happen.” He looked back down with a sigh.

“Hey, look at me. Even if you had reached me in time, it may not have changed things. You might have gotten hurt instead. We don’t know what would have happened and we can’t play a guessing game of what ifs.”

“I would rather be injured than let you get hurt again,” he murmured.

Your brow furrowed, “What was that?”

He shook his head, “It’s nothing. Breakfast is almost ready, we should get the others up.”

You agreed, and began to stand up. As you did, a ripple of pain shot through your leg, causing you to stumble. Zuko rushed forward, catching you before you could fall.

“This is what I was talking about! You aren’t fully healed,” he cried out. 

“No, I’m fine, really. And if I fell nothing bad would have happened. I know you feel guilty, but you don’t need to act as if I’m incapable of helping myself.”

“Haven’t you stopped to think as to why I care so much?” He looked into your eyes and you felt your heart skip a beat. “Has it even crossed your mind? I love you, alright? You trusted me from the start, even when the others didn’t. You’ve always been there for me, and I couldn’t even be there for you.”

“Zuko,” you paused, trying to find the right words, “I had no idea you felt this way.”

“I didn’t expect you to. But what does it matter,” he turned away, shaking his head. “it’s not like you would ever feel the same way about me.”

You stumbled forward, grabbing his shoulder. As he turned to face you, you crashed your lips into his. For a second he froze out of shock before kissing you back. He wrapped an arm around your waist to steady you, pulling you closer to him. When you broke away you smiled, “Haven’t you stopped to think that I might love you too?”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, just a reminder my requests on Tumblr are still closed! If you send me a request to my ask box I won't be answering it, but I will as soon as requests are open again! As always, kudos and comments are open! Love you all! <3


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